The Catholicos of All Armenians Received Graduate Students and Teaching Staff of the YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies
20.06.2023
On June 20, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received the graduate students and teaching staff of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Yerevan State University, headed by the Dean of the faculty, Professor Ruben Melkonyan.
Mr. Melkonyan, asking for the blessings of His Holiness, presented the achievements of the faculty this year and emphasized that the graduating students will bring useful service to the native state and the Armenian people with the knowledge they have acquired.
The Catholicos of All Armenians, congratulating the graduates, wished them fruitful activities and new successes.
His Holiness also congratulated those present on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, stressing the importance of the faculty's mission in training specialists in the direction of studying the past, present, cultural heritage and relations with the Armenian people of neighboring nations and countries.
The Armenian Patriarch noted with gratitude that the graduates who studied and were educated at the Faculty of Oriental Studies made an important contribution to state building and the establishment of diplomatic relations with many countries of the Middle East and the formation of friendly relations. In this regard, the Catholicos of All Armenians urged the graduates of the faculty to contribute to the development and progress of the homeland with a patriotic spirit, great zeal for national values, and new scientific studies within the framework of their profession.
At the meeting, His Holiness referred to the existing interaction between the Mother See and the Faculty of Oriental Studies, emphasizing that the graduates of the faculty also taught at the Gevorgyan Theological Seminary, which also formed connections between future clergymen and young Orientalists.
At the conclusion, His Holiness answered the questions of the graduates, which were related to the efforts of the Mother See aimed at preserving the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage and national identity in the conditions of globalization, as well as the role of the Armenian Church in Armenian-Iranian relations.
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